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Kids Count [2]
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PHOTOCOPY PRESERVATION
podesta.com
December 21, 1999
Ms. Melanne Verveer
Asst. to the President & Chief of Staff to the First Lady
100 Old Executive Office Building
17th & Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington DC 20500
Dear Melanne:
I thought you would be interested in the enclosed KIDS COUNT Special
Report, published by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. The Right Start:
Conditions of Babies and Their Families in America's Largest Cities,
takes a close look at the circumstances into which babies are born in the
nation's major urban centers.
To break the cycle of disadvantage and injustice, we need multi-
dimensional approaches to change family circumstances that are family-
focused, comprehensive, long term, and engage entire communities.
I hope you will use this report as you examine policies and practices that
have an impact on children and their families.
Best Regards,
Anthony T. Podesta
1001 G Street, NW
Suite 900 East
Washington, DC 20001
T 202.393.1010
F 202.393.5510
www.podesta.com
A Project of
1751
The Annie E. Casey
Foundation
kids
701 St. Paul Street
Baltimore, MD 21202
count
news
410 547.6600
EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE
CONTACTS: Ahngelique Davis
December 16, 1999, 12:01 a.m.
John Raffetto
202-393-1010
Diane Camper
410-223-2948
Newborns in America's Biggest Cities Face
Longer Odds in Life than Most U.S. Kids
WASHINGTON - Babies born in the nation's top 50 cities are far more likely
to start life at a substantial disadvantage relative to other infants, according to a
new study of birth certificate data for more than 750,000 babies born in large
cities in 1997. The report is the first comprehensive study of large cities based on
data drawn from birth certificates.
The study, a KIDS COUNT Special Report focused on the nation's largest
cities, underscores the extent to which many urban communities remain isolated
from the economic and social resurgence experienced over the past decade.
The Annie E. Casey Foundation's The Right Start: Conditions of Babies
and Their Families in America's Largest Cities found urban newborns are more
likely to be born to unmarried women, to women with less than 12 years of
education, and to women who get late or no prenatal care - risk factors that can
have lifelong implications
The report also ranks cities on measures such as mothers who smoke
during pregnancy and pre-term births, providing potential clues to how
communities can give children a better start in life.
"We believe that children do best when their families do well, and that
families do better when they live in supportive neighborhoods," said Douglas W.
Nelson, president of the Casey Foundation. "This study shows clearly what
happens when families don't get the kind of support they need. But because of
the differences between cities, it may also give us more information on how to
change this picture."
(more)
TTN
kids
Page 2
The Right Start
count
Among the major findings:
In the average large city, 43 percent of total births occurred to unmarried
women, compared to a national average of 32.4 percent. In the cities, that
percentage ranged from a high of 71.6 percent in Detroit to a low of 24.5
percent in Honolulu.
In the average large city, 14.9 percent of all births were to women under
20, compared to 12.7 nationally. The rate ranged from a high in Baltimore
of 22.8 percent to a low in Seattle of 6.3 percent.
In the average large city, 27.7 percent of births were to women with less
than 12 years of education, compared to 22.1 percent nationwide. In the
cities, the rate was highest in Los Angeles, at 47.1 percent, and lowest in
Honolulu, at 9.5 percent.
The report also found some positive national changes between 1990 and 1997.
Among the greatest changes:
The percent of total births to mothers who smoked during pregnancy
dropped from 18.4 percent in 1990 to 13.2 percent in 1997.
The percent of total births to mothers receiving late or no prenatal care
dropped from 6.1 percent to 1990 to 3.9 percent in 1997.
The report ranks the 50 largest cities using eight individual indicators, and two
combined indexes, for a total of 10 measurements. An Appendix provides the
same measures for every state. Data are also provided for five additional cities
that are part of the Casey Foundation's 22-city Making Connections initiative,
even though they are not among the 50 largest. This initiative seeks to stimulate
and support local networks of residents, civic groups, political leaders, grassroots
groups, government, and faith-based organizations to transform tough
neighborhoods into family-supportive environments.
The Annie E. Casey Foundation is a private charitable organization dedicated to
helping build better futures for disadvantaged children and families in the United
States. It was established in 1948 by Jim Casey, one of the founders of United
Parcel Service, and his siblings, who named the Foundation in honor of their
mother.
The Casey Foundation also publishes the annual KIDS COUNT Data Book that
provides a state-by-state assessment of children's well-being.
Complete data from The Right Start is available on the Foundation's Website at
www.aecf.org.
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